Although clean I feel my decals are a bit out dated for my taiste. I have decided I want to go with the all white look with a blue/black Scarab decal in the same lower rear position it is in.

I dont think removing the decals will be an issue provided I use some heat so that's not a concern of mine. What scares me is the fading under the decals. So, what have you guys found to be the best method to remove any fade/ discolor? The boat is a 9/10 as far as exterior goes and was stored indoor all of its lifebut I am very picky so I know I will want the finish as good as it can be.

Any preffered wax or solvent?

maybe traditional wet sand and buff?

any insight will be great as this is one of my first marine exterior projects.

Thanks,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC6ccwY2b2k

After removing depending on how bad it is hand compounding with a clear coat compound or buffing with a buffer will make quick work of bringing back the shine. Do a 2-3' x 2-3' area at a time. If you use a buffer cover up anything you don't want compound slug onto and don't do it in full sun. It's a shade tree job. First thing--most important, start with a ice chest full of cold beer.

Fading under the decals is not a concern, it will probably be shinier underneath the decal then the rest of your boat since it has been protected underneath for 17 years. The real concern should be ripping the paint off with the vinyl leaving the bare primer (if its on top of paint). If the decals are on top of gelcoat, it will very glossy underneath and look like brand new gel. The rest of your boat will look faded in comparison. Use a lot of heat and wipe the glue goo with acetone, then re-wax or compound the areas around to try to blend together the "new" and old gelcoat. Good Luck
Billy

Cool, sounds like it should be as straight forward as I was hoping it would be. I'm gonna grab my buffer and go to town this Sunday hopefully. Thanks for the insight.

Post before and after photo's so we can see your progress.

Absolutely!

You may actually find that the Gel Coat under the decal is elevated.... Well actually it isn't, it is at the level it always was and the surrounding gel, over the years, has been thinned out slightly due to sun, polishing, etc. There will be a considerable difference in color (even on white) between the area that had the decal and the surrounding area. You may consider block sanding with 800 grit, then cutting/polishing compounds. WHile this will not make the color difference go away, it will soften the edges, thus making it less noticable....

I peeled some stickers back, looks to be yellowed under the sticker so I'm hoping that's just glue but I plan to buff it for sure.

Here's what it looks like right now - not hateful but also not the "clean" look I like.

A friend of mine had one that looked exactly like yours. I had an older version without the molded in platform. Was a fun boat for sure.

Boat is a blast so far - so much fun that I took it out Sunday instead of peeling the decals....stay tuned.

I plan to go all whit and then swap the yellow"Scarab" in the back corner to the same sticker yet bright blue. Should be clean and simple which is what I'm after.